Circular-knitting machine.



- Nd. 800,192. PATENTBD SEPT. 26, 1905.

P. B. WILDMAN.

' CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 3111.5, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 800,192. Q PAIENTEDSEPT.26,1905.

' P. B. WILDMAN.

"ll l a I -/4 F I /7 5 /9 /4- a; 4

wwneom Nd. 800,192. 7 PATENTED SEPT. 26, 1905.

, 'F. B. WILDMAN.

CIRCULAR KNITTING-MACHINE. v

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5, 1905.

a SHEETS-SHEET 3.

a jg qa 4 Z gave/Who: .MMM' v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK B. WILDMAN, OF NOBRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE,

To all whom it may concern:

overcome certain difiiculties heretofore eXpe' rienced.

In machines ofvthe class referred to it is common to throw the dial-needles out of action for the formation of the welt by adjust ing the wing cam or cams all the way inwardly, so that the needles will remain in their retracted position, and thuszthey will not take the thread. In adjusting thisv wing-cam inwardly no difiiculty has been met with in the machines of larger diameter, for the inward adjustment of the wing-cam can take place without interference with any of the parts of the structure; but for machines of the smaller diameters it is not possible to adjust the wingcam far enough inwardly to accomplish the result without making room for the wing-cam to work in. The necessary room can be provided by cutting away the central post or spindle of the machine; but this is the objection I seek to avoid, since the machine is weakened by the cutting away of one. of its main supporting parts.

In carrying my invention into effect I provide a dial-cap having its cams adapted as a set to be adjusted circumferentially of the machine when the welt is to be formed, said adjustment of the cams being in respect to the thread-feeder and also to the needle-beds, so that without adjusting the Wing-cam to an excessive amount inwardly to hold the dial-needles retracted, as in the known style of machine, the dial-needles will be caused to miss the thread fed, and thus only cylinder-needle stitches will be formed to make the welt. This missing of the thread by the dial-needle is due to the fact that by the circumferential adjustment of the dial-cams the dial-needles are in retracted position at the point at which the" cylinder-needles would otherwise be sinking the yarn to the dial-needles. In other words, the action of the dial-needles is advanced in relation to, the action of the cylin- Specification of Letters Patent.

- Application filed January 5, 1905. Serial No. 239,783-

Patented. Sept. 26, 1905.

the feeding action of the thread thereto by the thread-guide and the cylinder-needle and theknitting proceeds with the cylinder-needles alone. The wing-cam cooperates in this action, as will hereinafter be disclosed, for the formation of the tuck-course. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of so much of a circular-rib-knitting machine as is necessary to a clear understanding of my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation showing the needles of the cylinderin' the act of feeding the yarn to the dialneedles. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectionalview through the machine. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the dial-cap, showing the cams carried thereby. Fig. 5 is a detail top plan view of the dial-cap. Fig. 6 is a side View of the dial-cap, with its cams.

The machine generally is of the type known as the McMichael and Wildman. I

In the drawings, 1 is the central supporting post or stud, held to the bridge-piece 2 by.

the nut 3. The bridge-piece is supported by posts 4, which in turn are supported on the rotary base-ring 5 of the machine. The basering is rotated through a circular gear 6, with which meshes a gear-wheel. (Not shown.)

The needle-cylinder 7 is fixed to a stationary base 8, and the dial 9 is arranged loosely about the central revolving post. It is held against rotation by the lug 1O thereon bearing against a lug on the cylinder, as in ordina'ry practice. This dial has a cap carrying the cams for operating the dial needles. These cams comprise the parts marked 11 in Fig. 3, and more particularly the needle-advancing cam 12 and the stitch-cam 13.

Instead of forming the dial-cap all in one piece and securing the cams thereto I employ a two-part dial-cap, the sections of which are marked 14 and 15. Thepart 14=is in the form of a-disk having a central boss 14:, which is screwed to the central post. the other disk 15 is located, and the latter has attached thereto the dial-cams above noted and all cams necessary to the operation of the dial-needles. to have circumferential shifting movement on the upper disk, so as to change the dialcams as a whole in their relation to the cyl inder-needles and cylinder-cams. Connection between the two disks is made by a pin 16 and a screw 17 through slots 18, formed in the upper disk, said slots being concentric This lower diskis adapted E der-needles, and thus the dial-needle escapes Below this disk IOO IIO

with the axial center of the machine. In order to shift the dial-disk 15, I employ a link 19, connected pivotally to the pin 16 and to a slotted arm 20, fixed on the vertical shaft 21, the said slot affording means of ready adj ustment. The vertical shaft is substantially the same as that disclosed in-Letters Patent of the United States, granted July 11, 1905, No. 794,474, and it is operated through arms 22 and 23, controlled through suitable pattern mechanism. I

By reference to Fig. 2, which is a side view showing the parts in normal position with both sets of needles in operation, it will be seen that the cylinder-needle at 24 is about to draw down the thread across the stem of the dial-needle 25 between the pivot of its latch and its hook, and the dial-needle will thus have received its thread, and it will knit its loop. From this point the dial-needles recede in position or in relative arrangement. Supposing now that the disk 15 had been shifted, thus altering the dial-cams circumferentially in respect to the cylinder-cams, so that instead of the needle at 25 being advanced sufiiciently it had been withdrawn or retracted so far that it would escape the feeding action of the thread. This needle would then be out of action, and the same thing would take place with each needle throughout the circuit of the machine. The dialneedle would not knit, and plain fabric of the welt would be knit on the cylinder-needles. This shifting action of the disk carrying the dial-cams also shifts the cam 12, which I employ in place of the known form of wing-cam, and in this shifting action the cam is adjusted to produce the tuck course or courses, and then the circumferential adjustment of the whole set of cams is done to produce the welt. In other words, the circumferential shifting movement of the disk 15 with the cams takes place step by step, the first step being sufiicient only to adjust the cam 12 inwardly for tucking, but not to prevent the dial needles from receiving the thread, while the second step is suflicient to carry the dial-needles circumferentially beyond the feeding-point, and thus throw them out of operation in order to produce the welt. For this purpose the top disk of the dial-cap has a cam-shaped slot 28, receiving a pin from the cam. When the connections are operated at first they move the cam in, so that the needles will have partial reciprocation, but will not allow the loops to get behind the latches for casting-off. Two loops will now get on each needle for the formation of the tack when these two loops are thrown off. In making this adjustment it will be understood, of course, that the disk 15 is not moved sufficiently far circnmferentially to cause the dial-needles to escape the thread-feeding action, as above described, but only far enough to adjust the cam 12 inwardly for making the tuck-course. The next step movement of the disk 15 Wlll move the cams so that the point at which the dial needles are drawn in to refeeding action.

It will be noticed that the cam-slot has only one step and a circumferential or concentric prolongation. The step or incline part of the cam is to shift the cam in for making the tuck-stitches, while the concentric portion is to permit the circumferential shifting of the lower section of the dial-cap for causing the dial-needles to escape the tln-ead-feeding action, and thus form the welt: The first shifting act-ion of the disk 15 is merely to operate the cam 12 for tucking, while the second and further shifting action of the said disk 15 in the same direction is to produce the welt. In the old form of machines there is liability of the latches of the dial-needles being interfered with when they are drawn in to form the welt, as the loop is then in the hook and the latch is free; but with the new form in forming the welt the needle is not drawn so far in and the loop remains on the latch, ihns controlling it and prcvei'iting its damage. This lesser movement inward of the dial-needles to form the welt is possible because of th rowi ng the dial circumferentially out of time with the cylinder-needles. It will be noticed, further. that the camway for the heels of the dialneedles opposite the point or high part of the advancing cam 12 is continuous, and there is no liability of the needles breaking by having their parts strike against a shoulder at this point. The cam-groove has a steep portion at 12 for retracting the needles rapidly, thus shortening up the distance circunilercntially that the dial-cap has to be shifted.

I have in the foregoing description disclosed what I now consider the best form of my invention; but it will be understood that I do not limit myself to the manner described in which I carry the invention into effect. For instance, the invention may be applied to the type of machine in which the needle-beds revolve and the cylinder and dial-cams remain stationary.

V I provide a guide to facilitate placing fabric on the needles, consisting of the depending sleeve 9 which is secured to the central post by a screw 9 and extends down to near the lower level of the base-ring 8. This enables the attendant to place the fabric in position more readily.

I claim as my invention---- 1. In combination in a circular-rib-knitting machine, a cylinder, a dial, needles for the same, a dial-cap made in two parts, one of which is supported on and is movable circumferentially in respect to the other, means for shifting the movable part of the dial-cap and cams for operating the dial-needles carried by the said movable part, substantially as described.

2. In combination, in a circular-knitting machine, the two needle-beds, a set of cams for the needles of one bed shiftable circumferentially inrespect to the point where the needles of said set receive the thread, and means for shifting one of the cams in'and out, said means being rendered operative by the circumferential shifting movement of the set of cams.

3. In combination, in a circular-knitting machine, two needle-beds, 'a set of cams for the needles of one of the beds sh'iftable circumferentially in respect to the point where the needles of said set receive the thread, a carrier for the said set of shiftable cams, one of said cams being adjustable in and out, a relatively fixed part having a cam-slot and a part projecting from the said cam into the slot to adjust the cam during, the circumferential shifting of the set of cams, substantially as described.

4. In a circular-rib-knitting machine, a dial and cylinder, needles therefor, a dial-cap composed of two parts, one,of which is shiftable circumferentially in relation to the other, a set of dial-cams carried by the shiftable part, the other part having a cam-slot and a pin on one of the said cams entering the same, whereby the said cam is adjustedin and out during the movement of the shiftable part, substantially as described.

5. In a circular-knitting machine, a cylinder, a dial, needles therefor, cams for the needles', a circumferentially-shifting carrier for one set of cams, one of the cams of said set being adjustable for producing the tuck-stitch, means for shifting the said cam for tucking said means being rendered effective by the circumferential movement of the carrier, said carrier having an additional circumferential shifting movement to throw the. needles of the one set out of operation.

6. In a circular-knitting-machine, a cylinder, a dial, needles therefor, cams for the needles, a circumferentially-shifting carrier for one set ofca'ms, one of the cams of said set being adjustable for producing the tuck-stitch,

means for shifting the said cam for tuckingmeans for shifting the said part on the fixed part whereby the dial-needles will escape the thread-feeding action, substantially as described.

8. In combination, in a circular-knitting machine, a cylinder and dial, a spindle and a sleeve on the spindle projecting down to approximately the bottom of the cylinder to afford a guide for placing the fabric on the machine, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK B. WILDMAN. Witnesses: CARRIE LANDIS, GEO. R. RALsToN. 

